Fig. 402.—The Ferrara half-suit, 1570. (Wallace Collection.)
The passion which prevailed for parade armour during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, led, as we have seen, to a high degree of ornamentation being bestowed upon many suits, but perhaps the greatest amount of intricate workmanship was lavished upon the rondaches, or shields, which were made to accompany the armour. In the Wallace Collection there is one of the most beautiful examples in existence, a rondache magnificently embossed and damascened, made for Diane de Poitiers and bearing her monogram and insignia. It dates from c. 1530, and is of Milanese manufacture, probably by the Negrolis. About a century and a half ago it was purchased in Italy for five hundred pounds. There are excellent examples in the Tower, Windsor Castle, and the British Museum, while those at Madrid are renowned for the wealth of ornamentation bestowed upon them. [Plate I.*], p. [16], is of Italian make and composed of different pieces screwed together; the four ovals contain representations of classical scenes, and four heads among other decorations are upon the border. A shield which once belonged to Philip II. is shown in [Plate II.*], p. [24]; while in [Plate III.*], p. [32], a German masterpiece by Desiderius Colman, finished in 1552, is shown. This was executed at the time when the fiercest rivalry existed between the Colmans of Augsburg and the Negrolis of Milan. The subjects depicted are War, Peace, Wisdom, and Strength. Another rondache of Augsburg make is given in [Plate IV.*], p. [40], whilst [Plate V.*], p. [48], and [Plate VI.*], p. [56], exhibit two beautiful designs from Italy.
Fig. 403.—Humphrey Brewster, 1593. Wrentham Church, Suffolk.
One of the most splendid examples of armour of the Decorative Period in Europe, or, as has been asserted, the most splendid example, is the Ferrara demi-suit once belonging to Alfonso II., Duke of Ferrara, &c. b. 1553, d. 1597 ([Fig. 402]). The armour dates from c. 1570, and is probably the work of Lucio Picinino; it occupies a prominent position in the Wallace Collection, and asserts pre-eminence even in that wonderful aggregation of examples of beautiful workmanship. The pieces consist of a breastplate of the peascod variety with laminated goussets, and a backplate; a gorget of five lames and a tace of one plate, which could be removed if required from the breastplate; tassets, laminated pauldrons, brassarts, vambraces, and coudières. The entire design of this grand example of the armourer’s art is worked out by embossing from the back to surfaces of different levels, chasing and enriching with fine gold damascening, plating, and overlaying. The work is of remarkably even quality, and is at the present time in an excellent state of preservation. Examples of some of the decorations are given in the beginning of this work, where (to the number of four) they are inserted as ornamental head-and tail-pieces.
